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Sunday, June 17, 2012

APPEARANCES by Wendy Delsol

Appearances.

I was almost tempted to do a post on author talks, signings,
etc., but that wasn’t the sort of appearance we YAOTLers agreed to discuss.

Okay, appearances.

Always a bit of a puzzle. Books are so often about the main
character going from ordinary to extraordinary. Readers need, thus, to identify
with the everyday type presented at the beginning of a story. Perfection,
physical or otherwise, doesn’t leave much room for transformation. Still, we
like our main characters to be (or become) a better version of ourselves. And
sometimes, yes, there’s a physical component to that.

So there’s a balance to be struck. I find it useful to
physically describe my protagonist via interactions with others. More
importantly, to vary the opinions. In my STORK trilogy, I had the school’s
queen bee scorn my new-to-town protagonist, Katla, her fashion sense in
particular. At the same time, others—her soon-to-be best friend, Penny, for
example—were enamored by Katla. This ambiguity leaves room for the reader to
form their own opinion.

I also try to introduce or reinforce certain individual
traits—Katla’s white blond hair, for one—via secondary characters. As an
example, Jaelle, a waitress in town, gives Katla a distinctive nickname.

“Hey, Ice.”The first day we met,
back in the summer, Jaelle had taken one look at my blond hair and proclaimed
it ice-white. And as far as I could tell, Jaelle didn’t give out nicknames
easily.

Given Katla’s connection as a human Stork to the white bird
as well as my use of the concept of a
white witch, I had wanted to highlight Katla’s white blond hair. The nickname, compounded by the fact that Jaelle
didn’t overuse them, accomplished as much. That was my intent, at any rate.

I was a little surprised when some bloggers and reviewers of
Stork were annoyed with Kat’s fashion obsession. She is an aspiring designer
and, admittedly, way into names and labels. She’s also a little daring or out
there in her own fashion sense. This, too, was intentional. She’s an L.A. girl
who’s recently been relocated against her will to northern Minnesota. Yes, upon
arrival, she’s dismissive of her new classmates and the local styles (or lack, in her opinion, thereof). Yet, some of her own outfits are a little, well, unusual. She receives as many odd looks as she gives. Again, my intention was to allow room for the reader's interpretation.

By the end of the book, she has an appreciation
for her new friends and their economic situations. Moreover, she elects to wear
a vintage dress to Homecoming, something she wouldn’t have even considered when
new to town. It is one measure, among others, of her personal growth.

I’m often asked if, given Kat’s flair for style, I’m into
clothing. The answer is no, not really. I like to look presentable, but I’m
also budget conscious. I had to research designer names much as I had to
research the names of Norse gods.

As to the cover—a close-up, full-face representation of
Kat—I love it but will admit that the model is slightly prettier than the Kat
I’d imagined. The luxurious fur trim she’s clutching to her throat, however. Oh
yeah, that’s her. Though I’m sure she’s paired it with ripped jeans and big,
clunky motorcycle boots.